Mail-box.



0. 1'. HEATH.

MAIL BOX.

LPPLIOATIC-R FILED MAY 31, 1911.

Patented Nov; 21, 1911.

Fig. 1.

// Z /////r/// n N 5 4 @WM 0 4 0 CLARENCE I5. HEATH, OF LAKEWOOD, RHODE ISLAND.

MAIL-BOX.

Specification ofI-etters Patent. Patented Kay. 21, 1911.

Application filed May 31, 1911. Serial No. 630,516.

' T all arliom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLAREXCE F. IIEA'II-I, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Lakewood. in the county of Kentand State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail- Boxes. of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in mail boxes of the class adapted to be attached to a residence and in which the mail is to be deposited by the carrier and the invention primarily consists in the provision of means whereby the locking and unlocking of such a box may be controlled from the inside of the house to which the same is attached.

The invention further consists in providing a slot in the box through which the mail may be deposited and also in providing a cover for closing said slot with means on the inside of said box for looking said cover closed.

\Vith these and other objects in View. the

invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described aud particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1- is a perspective view showing the box, its top cover being partly broken away, attached to the side of a house with a lock operating push rod extending from the box through the wall to the interior of the house. Fig. 2 is an elevation in section showing the upper part of the box and illustrating the top cover in position over the mail reeeivin; opening. Fig. 3- is a detail plan showing a portion of the top cover and the hinge fingers connected thereto. Fig. 4- is a perspective view illustrating the locking mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail illustrating the tripper pin as having raised the lever retaining spring latch to permit the lever to move to its unlocked position.

Referring to the drawing designates the body of the mail box which may be constructed in any desired shape and preferably of metal, the same being provided with a door 11 hinged at 12 and a latch 12 provided with a knob 13. The top of the box is covered with a plate 14 which may be attached by turning its edge 15 over the upper edges of the body of the box, as illustrated in Fig. 2.01 it may be attached in any desired or convenient way. In this top plate I have formed a slot 16 by cutting one edge of a lip 17 and pressing the same inward as illustrated in Fig. 2 through which slot letters or other thin mail matter may be passed into the box. This edge is preferably provided with a saw-tooth edge to increase the ditiieulty of surreptitiously withdrawing mail from the box. In order to cover thisslot I have provided a second plate 18. one edge 19 of which is provided with outwardly extending fingers 20 the same being adapted to be bent downward and passed through corresponding eyes 21 and 22 in the top and back of the box respectively, and then up over the rear edge of the box forming convenient hinges on which this cover may be raised. At times it is found advisable to lock this cover down over the opening 16. To accomplish this I have provided a staple E23v projecting downward from the inner side of said cover through a corresponding opening 21, a book 25 is hinged on the pin 26 on the inside of the box and is adapted to be swung up through said staple for securing said cover in its closed position.

Screws -17, 47 are adapted to be passedthrough corresponding holes in the back 4:1 of the box for securing the same firmly to the side of a house or other position.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of means whereby the lock may be operated from the inside of the house. To accomplish this a pawl 27 is pivoted at 28 and is pressed by the spring 29 into position to engage the edge 39 of the box. The extent of movement in this direction being limited by the pin 31. In order to control the movement of this latch I have provided a knee lever 32 pivotally held at 33 on the member 31, said lever having an arm 35 extending forward so as to engage this pawl 27, and an arm 36 substantially at right angles to arm 35, the former being pressed backward by the spring 37 to carry and normally hold arm 35 in its unlocked position.

IVhen it is desired to move the pawl 27 out of engagement with the edge of the box the end 42 of the push rod is pressed inward carrying arm against the pawl 27 moving the same to the right which permits the door 11 to be opened. At 43 is a spring latch having a lip 41 adapted to drop back of arm 35 when pressed forward by the push rod 38 to hold said arm in its unlocked position to be raised only by the passage of the tripper pin 45 under its upturned edge 46 as the door 11 is opened and closed.

The operati n of the invention may be. more fully described as follows: The mail box is designed to be fastened to the outside of a house. After the mail has been withdrawn from the box by the occupants of the house, the box door is closed, the closing action serving to lock the door. As the person again enters the house the push rod 42 is pressed inward moving the knee lever and the locking pawl to their unlocked position where they are retained by the lip on the spring latch, thereby leaving the door closed and latched but unlocked. IVhen the carrier arrives he simply raises the latch 12 opens the door, deposits the mail in the box and the action of closing the door again causes the same to lock automatically in which condition it remains until it is desired by the occupants of the house to take the mail from the box when the operation described above is repeated.

In some cases when the occupants of the house are to be away for an indefinite period and still desire to permit the mail carrier to have access to the box from day to day without unlocking the door, the hook 25 may be removed from its staple 23 which will allow the outer plate or cover 18 to be raisedby the carrier to deposit the mail through the opening 16 in the top plate 14 of the box.

The primary advantage of the invention is that no keys have to be employed, no looks or key-holes are visible when the door is closed and therefore the lock cannot be tampered with by unauthorized persons from the outside. A further advantage is that excepting when thetop plate is unlocked, which is in exceptional cases, there are no openings whatever in thebox through which mail may be extracted therefrom, the opening of the box being entirely and exclusively controlled from within the house by means of the lock operating push rod 42' after the mail has been deposited therein.

I claim:

A mail box adapted to be secured to the wall of a building, a door on the front of said box, a locking pawl on the inside of said door, a pivotally held knee lever for controlling the position of said pawl, an operating pin extending through a portion of the box other than the door and the Wall of the building to the opposite side thereof, said pin being adapted to move said lever to throw back said pawl to unlock the door, a spring latch for retaining said lever and pawl in its unlocked position, and a tripper for causing said latch to release said lever to move back from its locked position when the door is opened.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. CLARENCE F. HEATH.

\Vitnesses:

HOWARD E. Barrow,

E. I. OGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. G. 

